10 Classic Science Fiction Movies

These 10 classic science-fiction movies tell smart sci-fi stories while remaining full of adventure. These movies never cheat the audience and respect the genre by remaining true to its roots. Whether telling space operas or futuristic horror stories, these are some of the best movies of all time.

“2001: A Space Odyssey” Stanley Kubrick directed one of the greatest classic science-fiction movies of all time. A spacecraft heads into space and comes across a highly intelligent being. The movie deals with the evolution of mankind and the battle between man and machine.

“The Empire Strikes Back” This “Star Wars” movie remains one of the best science-fiction movies of all time. The movie offers many revelations and it ends on a daring note with the bad guys winning. This is a rare case where the sequel surpasses the original.

“Alien” Ridley Scott directs this, one of the best classic science-fiction movies. “Alien” tells a haunted house story in space and remains both frightening and awe-inspiring with its fantastical alien design. The movie makes the future look dirty and cold instead of shiny and new.

“Metropolis” In one of the earliest of the classic science-fiction movies, Fritz Lang directs this movie about a city in the future which has fallen on hard times with the working class and city planners segregated. Society begins to fall apart when one individual predicts the coming of a being who will help raise the lower class.

“Blade Runner” Ridley Scott created an amazing world in one of the best classic science-fiction movies of all time. Harrison Ford stars as a Blade Runner, whose job is to track down replicants, robots who believe they are human. When four dangerous replicants return to Earth, he begins to question whether they are any less human than he.

“The Thing”John Carpenterremakes a classic, telling the story of an alien who takes any form it chooses. One of the best classic science fiction movies, it stars Kurt Russell as a member of an Arctic scientific expedition who are trapped in their station when the alien attacks.

“Planet of the Apes” One of the most inspired classic science-fiction movies, this tells the story of a world where apes are the ruling class and humans are slaves. When astronauts crash on the planet, they are captured and fight for their survival in a society where their existence is threatening.

“Invasion of the Body Snatchers” Taking communism and applying it to a movie, Don Siegel created one of the best classic science-fiction movies of all time. Aliens capture and take over the lives of Earth’s inhabitants, creating emotionless beings in their place. The remaining humans fight to remain free.

“Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn” “Wrath of Kahn” remains one of the best classic science-fiction movies in the series. Working as a sequel to one of the classic TV shows episodes, Kahn seeks revenge against his old enemy, Captain Kirk. The movie features one of the greatest death scenes in movie history.

“Forbidden Planet” “Forbidden Planet” is one of the most iconic classic science-fiction movies in cinema history. A space crew heads to a planet to find out what happened to the last crew who landed there and find only two survivors. The movie also introduced one of science-fiction’s most beloved characters, Robby the Robot.